Related Links

Johannesburg - The ANC has lost a third of its media
presence compared to the year prior to the 2009 elections, Media Tenor said on
Tuesday.

"With only months left until the elections, the ANC
has lost its dominance in the media and faces the prospect of losing further
confidence in its president, Jacob Zuma," the media research institute
said.

Zuma's reputation showed no signs of recovering.

According to an analysis of the country's political
climate between January 2011 and December 2013, opposition party coverage made
up just under half (48%) of the share of the coverage last year.

This was compared to 2009, when opposition parties were
only getting 28% of the coverage.

Media Tenor's senior researcher Stephano Radaelli said
this did not bode well for the ANC.

"This means that the opportunity for resonance with
other political parties is higher."

"Should his media image continue to improve, this
will see more sympathy for him and his party's views," said Radaelli.

"Unless Jacob Zuma can restore his own reputation in
the media and show more consistency in this regard, the ANC is unlikely to
appeal to people seeking effective leadership from the party."

Creating
confidence

According to Media Tenor's findings, the ANC's stance on
job creation lacked credibility. To create some confidence the party had to
deliver on this and it would need to rely on government's reputation.

The study was based on the analysis of 141 255 statements
on political parties and 101 445 statements on Zuma in 47 opinion-leading print
and TV news items.

The institute said a dominant political presence in the
media ahead of elections was key in order to remain relevant.

According to the analysis the ANC had 53% share of the
media coverage, while the DA had 31% and EFF 4%.

Other political parties had 12%.

"[Last year] has proven challenging for [President] Jacob
Zuma and Helen Zille as both their media images have been unstable," Media
Tenor said.

"Respectively, scandals and protests have set a
negative precedent in the media, and as such neither have been able to see
their media image recover for long."

24.com publishes all comments posted on articles provided that they adhere to our Comments Policy. Should you wish to report a comment for editorial review, please do so by clicking the 'Report Comment' button to the right of each comment.

Tell us a bit about yourself:

Saving your profile

Settings

News24 allows you to edit the display of certain components based on a location.
If you wish to personalise the page based on your preferences, please select a
location for each component and click "Submit" in order for the changes to
take affect.

Your Location*

Weather*

Always remember my setting

Saving your settings

Facebook Sign-In

Hi News addict,

Join the News24 Community to be involved in breaking the news.

Log in with Facebook to comment and personalise news, weather and listings.